Whale entanglements in Ghost gear has to stop
By Jake Keeton

1. News

Ghost gear (discarded fishing nets or rope) has been a threat to cetacean species ever since man started fishing the oceans with nets or traps. Every year, countless whales, dolphins and other marine species are entangled in discarded or illegal fishing gear. In most cases these entanglements lead to a slow death if not discovered by those with the means to free the animal. The most prominent issue along our coast is the entanglement of Humpback Whales as they migrate past us up to their breeding grounds off of Mozambique and Kenya.

Thankfully there are teams of people from all around the world that are trying to make a difference. Our local NSRI station 6 in Port Elizabeth do an amazing when called upon to free entangled whales.

On 21 September 2023 we came across a juvenile humpback whale entangled in rope and floating buoys. NSRI arrived on the scene and succeeded in freeing the whale unharmed.

Shortly after that event the World Cetacean Alliance informed us about the incredible work being done by the sustainable brand Waterhhaul. Waterhaul go to great lengths to remove ghost gear from the ocean and turn it into recycled products.

With the help of the WCA we were instructed on how to correctly clean and pack the rope, then shipped it off to Waterhaul HQ in Cornwall, UK where they are busy recycling the ghost gear and turning it into something special. Head over to https://waterhaul.co/ to learn more about their latest #rescuetorecycle campaign.

We will do our best to keep an eye out for entangled whales during the rest of this migratory season so that they too can be given a second chance. What really needs to happen though is to prevent the addition of new ghost gear to our ocean whilst the existing gear can be removed. For this to happen we need to create public awareness so that people worldwide can speak out against the dumping of ghost gear.

Read more on the disentanglement:  https://www.raggycharters.co.za/article/recent-humpback-whale-release-algoa-bay

Take a look at this NSRI Presentiton on how disentanglements are done: